Hemp business owners sent a flurry of campaign contributions to key Illinois lawmakers this fall to ward off a feared shutdown of their industry, though it paled in comparison to the money that licensed cannabis companies have given over the years, state records show.

Hemp advocates gave more than $30,000 to oppose a bill they said would have shut them down, and instead favored a bill to tax and regulate hemp but let them stay in business. Much of that money went to the campaign fund for House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who refused to bring the feared ban to a vote without 60 Democratic votes.

But campaign donations from cannabis businesses have a much longer history. By comparison, ICANN PAC, which represents state-licensed cannabis interests, made few political contributions in 2024, although it has been a heavy contributor in the past. The cannabis political action committee has given at least $287,500 since it was founded in 2018, and was especially active with contributions between 2021 and 2023 when various issues, including hemp regulation, were being debated. ICANN’s biggest donations to date have gone to state Senate President Don Harmon’s campaign, which received $185,000, and Welch’s campaign, which received $57,000.

Cannabis companies favored the much stricter bill to bring intoxicating hemp products under the cannabis licensing system, which was supported by Gov. JB Pritzker, who criticized the influence of pro-hemp political donations. Neither bill passed in the General Assembly’s lame duck session at the start of the new year.

“I was tremendously disappointed that this is a demonstration, from my perspective, of the power of special interests and the money that they spread around to thwart health and safety of the public,” Pritzker said last week. He said the hemp bill’s demise resulted from “the choice by a number of people to go for profits over people.”

But a spokeswoman for Welch’s office said larger concerns were at play that were “irrelevant” to donations, and the bill didn’t have enough support in the Democratic Caucus.

“While everyone supports health and safety regulations, there were concerns around equity, there were concerns around how this would put black and brown business owners out of business, and there were concerns about handing this industry to big cannabis while stripping smaller business owners of opportunity,” TaQuoya McConnico wrote in an email to the Tribune. “Speaker Welch is committed to continuing discussions and bringing stakeholders to the table so that when the bill ultimately passes, it is the best possible piece of legislation for Illinois. We don’t have to choose between keeping people safe and protecting small business owners. We can do both.”

The impasse leaves hemp largely unregulated, for sale at stores and gas stations statewide, with no age or amount restrictions for an intoxicating and potentially addictive product.

It also leaves intact the competition between the cannabis industry, which remains illegal federally but is licensed in Illinois and 23 other states, and the hemp industry, whose products are federally legal. In legalizing hemp, Congress intended to allow the sale of nonintoxicating products like CBD, but inadvertently created a loophole that also allows the sale of products that get users high.

Charles Wu, owner of Chicago-based Chi’tiva and lobbyist for the Illinois Hemp Business Association, made contributions totaling $21,831 in the past two years, the state Board of Elections reported.

That includes reported campaign contributions of $9,000 to Welch’s main fund in 2024, $3,500 to state Rep. LaShawn Ford, who sponsored legislation for looser regulations than the governor supported, $1,250 to Rep. Teresa Mah, who appeared with Ford at a news conference supporting the bill, $1,500 to a fund for state Sen. Cristina Castro and $2,500 to Neighbors for state Rep. Hoan Huynh, all Democrats.

The pro-hemp Council for the Safe Regulation of Delta Hemp Products also gave $10,000 to Welch’s campaign, as well as $8,000 to Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and $5,000 to state Rep. Yolanda Morris.

Wu sent a statement to the Tribune again calling for legislation to set a minimum age of 21 for hemp customers, and requiring testing and labeling of potency and purity, but calling the controversy over donations “a distraction.”

“Millions of dollars are regularly spent on campaigns in Illinois,” Wu wrote. “Within that context, I highly doubt that a few relatively minor contributions would influence someone’s position on a major issue.”

Mah said donors get “no advantage,” and that she was looking for a way to safely regulate hemp without shutting down the industry.

Harmon sent a statement that he voted for the strict hemp regulation to keep the products away from children, saying, “The only priority for this legislation is to keep children safe.”

For added context, large interest groups like unions and corporations give millions in campaign donations, and the JB for Governor fund spent $7 million in the fall campaign push, much of it to lawmakers.

Ford said most small hemp and cannabis business owners alike don’t have much money to donate to campaigns, but donations are an intrinsic part of politics.

“No one buys votes,” Ford said. “People support campaigns. Lobbyists hope they can curry favor with campaign donations, but they also recognize that it’s not a promise. I’ve taken money from both sides, but I vote according to justice and fairness.”

Welch has consistently stuck to his rule requiring 60 Democrats to bring a bill to a vote, Ford said, so he can’t be accused of favoritism on this issue.

Alisa Kaplan, executive director for the nonpartisan public policy watchdog group Reform for Illinois, expressed concern about the donations.

“It’s not a ton of money for Illinois politics, but the timing suggests the hemp industry wanted to make sure its voice was heard on this issue,” she told the Tribune. “Did money affect the outcome? The problem with our system is that whenever money changes hands, you’re never really going to know whose interests are being put first. Even if nothing shady is actually going on, there’s always that cloud over the process.”

Arianne Richards, head of cannabis advocate Chicago NORML, which does not make campaign donations, said the influence of money makes it particularly tough for minority and other startup licensed business owners.

“It’s disheartening and doesn’t make a fair playing field,” she said. “You can’t compete with people’s money.”

A Tribune investigation in 2019, when Illinois lawmakers voted to legalize recreational marijuana, found that cannabis cultivating companies gave more than $630,000 in political donations. Those companies gained a huge advantage when they were allowed to sell their products immediately upon legalization in 2020, while new businesses were limited in size and have struggled for years to get licenses and open.

Illinois marijuana growers spent about $600,000 on political giving leading to the pot legalization vote. Here’s where the money went.

Many of the big multistate cannabis companies have donated to ICANN PAC. The campaign watchdog group Reform for Illinois reported that ICANN’s top donors since it was founded were cannabis companies PharmaCann, at a total of $56,000; followed by Cresco Labs, at $47,000; Curaleaf at $39,500; Cresco Labs, LLC, at $38,200; Nature’s Grace and Wellness at $34,000; Ascend Illinois, LLC, at $24,000; GTI-Illinois Clinic Holdings, LLC; and GTI Rock Island, LLC, at $22,200.

Many companies also gave directly to political campaigns. Cresco Labs, for instance, has donated about $151,000 since 2017, including its ICANN donations.

The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, which represents many of those companies and has also donated to ICANN PAC, issued a statement from Executive Director Tiffany Chappell Ingram that it follows all disclosure requirements.

“Like many other industries and organizations, the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois participates in the political process through campaign contributions and other forms of outreach. This engagement does not and should not dictate legislative or policy outcomes.”

Hemp is defined by federal law as cannabis with less than 0.3% dry weight of delta-9 THC, the main component that gets users stoned. But manufacturers have found ways to synthetically derive similar compounds, such as delta-8 THC, or to concentrate more delta-9 THC in much heavier foods or drinks, so that they also get people high.

Several states have banned or limited hemp-derived cannabinoids. In states like Illinois where hemp remains unregulated, hemp products are far cheaper because they don’t have the same taxes and fees required of the licensed cannabis stores.

Estimates of hemp sales nationwide vary widely, but consistently are in the billions. Analytics firm Brightfield Group estimated nationwide hemp sales in 2023 were at about $3 billion, far short of the $32 billion in state-licensed cannabis sales, but growing.